The multinational machinery, solutions and technology for field professionals, John Deere, has announced its incorporation into the project ‘Achieving Carbon Zero Farming‘ (‘For carbon neutral agriculture’). It is an innovation hub led by EIT Food, a European startup accelerator that proposes innovative solutions for the field, and is located in Bilbao.
The main objective of this space is to develop novel tools with which to tackle the problem of the greenhouse gas emission. Thus, the keys with which to monitor, review and validate carbon sequestration will be formulated. A challenge that also encompasses a wide range of technological solutions to improve water retention, nutrient cycling, soil quality, as well as to preserve the biodiversity of agricultural areas where farmers and ranchers operate.
To do this, the multinational will make the innovation center that has recently opened in our country available to the project: John Deere Parla Innovation Center. There, the startups that participate in the Bilbao hub can be advised by experts and professionals from John Deere, in addition to the rest of the firms and sector leaders that are part of this innovative ecosystem: Teyme, ID David, Metos, Yara, Agromillora, Azud, or AGQ Labs, among others.
Thus, the hub startups They will be able to expand their knowledge in agricultural machinery, sensors, inputs, plant genetics or water management. In addition, they will have access to more than four hectares of arable land that are part of the complex, and that they will use as a testing ground to verify their advances and progress in multiple types of high-value crops, such as the olive tree, the vine, the almond tree, the pistachio or the apple tree.
A European project for a more sustainable agriculture
The Bilbao hub is one of the headquarters of EIT Food South, the network of innovation spaces. Taken as a whole, this program is intended to identify, recognize and accelerate all types of start-ups working to develop cutting-edge products and services from agri-food technology in order to make the activities of the agricultural sector more efficient and sustainable.
In this way, this innovation network encompasses initiatives throughout the sector’s entire value chain: from nutrition and the search for new foods to the promotion of products for medicinal use. For this, it has the support of large global firms such as John Deere itself, Bayer or Danone. In addition, the program includes financial support for startups with up to 100,000 euros that they can allocate to the development of tests, experiments and pilot projects.
